Chapter 24

Chapter 24

In the cemetery bathed in dawn's golden light, several black-clad bodyguards marched out two tightly bound men and alerted the police.

Before the police arrived, Yu Jingmo and Yu Shang calmly continued paying their respects.

Tendrils of incense smoke curled through the air, mingling with the sweet scent of osmanthus. The golden sunlight fell upon the couple’s photo on the tombstone: the woman in a cheongsam smiled radiantly, while the man in a white suit looked dignified and scholarly. The backdrop was a deep red velvet curtain—clearly their wedding photo.

Yu Shang said, “Perhaps Grandpa and Grandma are watching over us from heaven.”

Yu Jingmo didn't respond either way. He solemnly lit a stick of incense, wiped the dust off the tombstone, then broke off a sprig of osmanthus and placed it before the fruits—his mother had loved osmanthus.

“You light one too,” Yu Jingmo said to Tian Ruan.

Tian Ruan obediently lit the incense and paid respects to his departed in-laws.

Soon after, the police arrived and asked a few questions. Any follow-up legal matters would be handled by the Wintergreen Group’s legal department. However, this wasn’t the end of it—Elder Yu would undoubtedly intervene, given that Yu Maodan was also his grandson. But these were trivial matters for now.

The three returned to the manor. Yu Jingmo sat on the sofa reading the newspaper while his phone rang repeatedly. He simply turned it off and told the butler, “No outside visitors today.”

The butler replied, “Understood.”

With that, the manor gates closed, finally bringing some quiet.

Tian Ruan followed the servants to learn dessert-making. He whipped a large amount of cream and piped it into choux pastry shells, making over fifty cream puffs—way more than they could eat. So he gave most of them to the servants, keeping ten for himself and ten for Yu Shang.

Yu Shang looked at the packaged cream puffs and said, “I don’t eat sweets much. Give them to Liu Ma.”

“Liu Ma has already eaten five,” Tian Ruan said. “If you don’t want them, you can share them with someone else.”

Yu Shang immediately thought of Lu Qiuyan. He accepted the cream puffs, thanked Tian Ruan, and called a deliveryman to send them to Lu Qiuyan’s address.

Tian Ruan then brought the cream puffs to Yu Jingmo. “Mr. Yu, would you like some?”

Yu Jingmo reached out and took one. The light, fresh flavor of the animal cream burst in his mouth, the shell crisp but yielding—an excellent texture. “Did you make these?”

“I whipped the cream.”

“Very good.”

“Yu Shang didn’t eat his.”

Yu Jingmo’s tone was indifferent. “His biological mother made cakes. She also made other desserts. Sometimes, when they didn’t sell out, she had to eat them as meals. He’s had enough.”

Tian Ruan froze for a moment before processing the information. The original novel had only touched on Yu Shang’s background in passing.

Before the age of eight, Yu Shang had lived a relatively comfortable life. His mother had learned cake-making and opened a small shop. His father was never around.

Without his father’s presence, Yu Shang adored his mother.

Then one day, a robber attacked the cake shop. His mother was stabbed eighteen times and died right there.

The police collected Yu Shang from school and took him to the hospital to see his mother’s body in the morgue.

Not long after, Yu Shang was sent to an orphanage, where he spent two years before being adopted by Yu Jingmo.

“Why so glum?” Yu Jingmo’s deep, cool voice echoed in Tian Ruan’s ears. “Yu Shang isn’t as fragile as you think. He’ll still eat cake.”

Tian Ruan sighed. “It’s amazing he never developed any psychological trauma.”

"I raised him right."

"..."

Yu Jingmo wasn’t bragging—he was just stating a fact, plain and simple.

Yu Shang had grown into someone steady and decisive, with a clear mind and impeccable character. He was gradually gaining authority and had a knack for strategy; otherwise, he wouldn't have become the student council president.

A bit green still, but miles ahead of his peers.

In the afternoon, Yu Ti showed up unannounced. The front gate was closed, so Yu Jingmo asked how she got in.

Yu Ti: "Climbed the osmanthus tree in the backyard. Piece of cake."

Yu Jingmo shot Tian Ruan a look.

Tian Ruan: "..."

Yu Ti handed her gift over with a grin, sniffing the air. "Something smells incredible! Are you baking a cake?"

Yu Jingmo didn’t shoo her away. "You’re staying for dinner."

"Thanks, Uncle!"

Yu Ti then pulled out a game console from under the TV cabinet along with some retro cartridges—all pixel games.

Tian Ruan hadn’t had much fun growing up, and he'd never played these kinds of games before. He picked one called *The Brave's Adventure House*.

The hero teams up with a mage, a warrior, and a rabbit to fight monsters and go dungeon-crawling.

Yu Ti explained, "The ones glowing red are monsters. Only treasure chests with green names can be opened—the others are booby-trapped."

When Yu Shang arrived, he joined in, playing as the warrior. Ignoring the hero and the mage, he blew past everyone to the end—game over.

Tian Ruan: "..."

Yu Ti: "Dude, what’s your problem? Ever heard of teamwork?"

Yu Shang asked, "Rematch?"

Before Yu Ti could answer, Tian Ruan said, "Sure."

The second round turned what was supposed to be a casual adventure game into a competitive race. The hero, mage, and warrior all scrambled ahead with no teamwork—just tripping over each other.

Once again, the warrior reached the finish line first.

The third round, the fourth round—every time, the warrior hogged most of the loot and arrived at the end first. The hero and mage exchanged deadpan looks.

"Bro, you hacking or something?" Yu Ti asked.

Yu Shang: "Nope."

"Then how do you keep winning?"

"Just lucky, I guess."

If anyone else had said that, it would’ve been infuriating. But coming from Yu Shang, it was believable—after all, he was the protagonist, blessed with protagonist plot armor.

Still, using protagonist privileges for something so trivial was next-level annoying.

Tian Ruan pointed at Yu Shang indignantly, "You’re done playing."

Yu Shang: "Can’t handle losing?"

Tian Ruan turned accusingly to Yu Jingmo, who was drinking tea in the parlor, "Come play instead, Mr. Yu."

"My dad doesn’t play games this childish."

Yu Jingmo strode over and held out his hand for the game controller.

Yu Shang: "..."

The butler, passing by, beamed, "The master and his wife are so loving and sweet—a perfect pair—brains and beauty, made for each other."

Yu Shang shot him a cold glare.

The butler clamped his mouth shut and made himself scarce.

Whether it was because the protagonist was sidelined or Yu Jingmo intentionally cooperated, Tian Ruan could actually enjoy the game. His little warrior, under the protection of the swordsman, smoothly reached the finish line first.

Yu Ti said with a laugh, "Now this is fun!"

Yu Jingmo glanced at his pouting son and said, "You take things too seriously. You need to learn when to back off."

Yu Shang: "...Oh."

As dusk fell, the servants set up a simple arrangement in the front yard of the estate. With the bright moon overhead, casting its silver light, little additional lighting was needed.

The four dined under the moonlight. Liu Ma had prepared nine dishes, one soup, and ten kinds of pastries, cheerfully saying, "May the master’s birthday be blessed, his life go smoothly, and everything be perfect."

Yu Jingmo replied, "Thank you."

"Shall we sing 'Happy Birthday' for Uncle?" Yu Ti suggested.

Tian Ruan: "Sure."

Yu Shang looked reluctant but couldn’t refuse.

"Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday, wormwood..." Tian Ruan and Yu Ti both turned to stare at Yu Shang.

Yu Shang: "..."

Yu Ti continued singing, "Wishing you happiness always~"

Tian Ruan: "Wishing you joy and blessings~"

Yu Jingmo’s lips quirked in a faint smile. "Thank you, all of you. It was lovely."

"Hahaha..." Yu Ti burst out laughing. "Brother, still can’t carry a tune?"

Yu Shang: "I’ll stick to the piano."

Yu Jingmo interjected, "Let’s eat first."

Though the birthday feast was delicious, Tian Ruan left room for cake.

The full moon shone above, casting twin shadows on the ground—Yu Jingmo had slipped over beside Tian Ruan.

"Good?" Yu Jingmo’s deep voice mingled with the cool night air, holding a whisper of osmanthus. Soft notes of piano music drifted from the living room.

Tian Ruan nodded earnestly. "Tastes great."

Just then, a long "whoosh—" cut through the night, and the sky exploded with colorful lights, drifting like shimmering rain beneath the moon.

One after another, fireworks soared into the sky with bold, spectacular bursts, determined to leave behind the most beautiful display in their fleeting moment of brilliance. Some crisscrossed like willow branches in mist, others bloomed like canopies, while some simply formed perfectly symmetrical, dazzling circles.

Yu Jingmo gazed upward, unable to tear his eyes away for a long time.

He heard the young man’s voice, soft as a southern spring breeze: "Do you like it?"

Yu Jingmo turned his head amidst the dazzling fireworks and saw the young man’s curved lips and smiling eyes. "Was this your doing?"

Tian Ruan nodded proudly. He had spent all his savings—several thousand yuan—to put on this fireworks show. He'd done it mainly to thank Yu Jingmo for sending him to school.

"You didn’t know that fireworks are banned in wooded areas and cities?"

Tian Ruan’s smile froze. "...Huh?"

After a moment, Yu Jingmo’s lips curved slightly. "If it’s private property, it’s fine. This mountain belongs to our family."

Tian Ruan realized he was being teased. "You—"

"It’s beautiful," Yu Jingmo said, looking at him. "I love it."

Tian Ruan went quiet, his heart tightening as his pulse quickened uncontrollably. He didn't dare look at Yu Jingmo, fixing his eyes on the fireworks in the sky instead, praying the fireworks would hurry up and end.

Yu Jingmo reached out and wiped away a bit of cream from the corner of the young man’s lips, tasting it himself. It was indeed very sweet.

Tian Ruan couldn’t bring himself to look at him just then—

Whoosh—bang—a firework burst into the shape of a heart, followed by the glowing letters "LOVE" lingering in the sky.

Yu Jingmo raised an eyebrow. "Was this also part of your plan for me?"

Tian Ruan was speechless.

Stupid fireworks, sneaking in extra messages like this?